Be On The Lookout

This posting comes from a neighbor on Huntington.

Last night from 10p-12 midnight, a root beer colored '80's Chevy Pick up Truck was parked in front of Sierra Oaks Park on Huntington Rd. The occupants appeared to be smoking crack. Closer to midnight, the truck was slowly driving around the neighborhood. Be aware of this sighting.

We did call the Sheriff, not the SONA number, but the North Central #. It took them 27 minutes to arrive, and by then, the truck was gone. Again, be on alert for this vehicle.

Rummage Sale Outcome

Dear Neighbors, Parents, Teachers, and Students of the Sierra Oaks School/Neighborhood Community,

Thank you for making the 1st Annual "Rummage for the Arts" fundraiser a big success. By Friday evening, January 23rd, we had loads and loads of rummage to sort through- wonderful stuff like purses, and vases, and kid's clothing, and sporting goods, and tables, and paintings, and furniture, and ....and....and! It was fabulous. We were blessed with enough sturdy souls willing to donate time to sorting, organizing, pricing and selling. We had a steady stream of customers, drifting through on what turned out to be a nice winter Saturday in Sacramento. We had a nice handful of our middle- schoolers helping and selling and even socializing. And finally, we had a strong and focused group of men and women haul the unsold goods to the Goodwill and then come back and make sure the MP room was ready for school on Monday. It was smooth and enjoyable.

Although we grossed over $931.00, the profit came to just under $800 (for we had a district-mandated $135.00 to pay for Heating and Air). With a goal of $900.00, I feel we came close and it certainly seems like every one went home happy and holding a new find or two. Bottom line is we made money for the Sierra Oaks School Art Docent Program- now we can start an inventory of supplies- middle schoolers earned some community service hours, our neighborhood cleaned out their closets and many of us found cool things to bring home. Success.

I want to thank every one who donated to the event, without your stuff we would not have had a sale.

I want to thank the middle-schoolers who helped at the event or in set up the day before. ( Please see Mr. Caplan for a Community Service form, write the hours you worked and I will sign those forms and leave them with him. )

I want to thank the following parents who put in time to make it happen:
Jamie Price
Cheryl Noack
Kira Christiansen
Nora keenan
Aulaina Hansen
Sally Petree
Kim Frame
Lisa Chizmar
Alison Sandman
Maria Manning
Diane Ewing
Carolyne/Mark Moreno
Jayanthi Kasiraj
Gail Bailey
Beth Strausser
Denise Jones
Einat Vechter
Carole Lyle
Clyde Berthold
Janine Romney
and any one else I might have forgotten.

Lastly, I would like to Thank Brenda Lampela, Nancy Dyer, and Kyria Petuskey whom each worked to organize and lead this fundraiser.(You were an awesome group of leaders-thanks). And, Margarite Crown, who donated her entire Saturday to release us of the district-mandated $400.00 fee.

Thanks to all and mark your calendars for next years "January Rummage event".

Sincerely, Dominique Patrick

Car Burglary

This post comes from Deputy Charles Price. It is from Thursday, the 22nd.

I took a vehicle burglary report at ____ American River.

A car owner parked in the office complex there, had the window smashed out and his dash mounted GPS stolen. There was a minimal loss other than that. This might be a good subject for your newsletter/update to the homeowners of Sierra Oaks.

Items such as cell phones, GPS, radar detectors and other dash or cigarette lighter powered electronic items are easily grabbed via window smashes if they are prominently displayed on the dash. It only takes less than a minute to smash out a window, grab and run.

Deputy Charles Price

Yard Sale

Sierra Oaks Burglary

Please read the following email from one our Sierra Oaks neighbors.

My name is _____ ______and I am a Sierra Oaks resident living at ---- American River Drive. I'd like to join SONA and participate, as well as to report the following news which I'm hoping you'll include in your SONA newsletter as well as any websites or blogs providing crime alerts for our neighborhood.

On Monday evening, January 12th, at approximately 6:30 P.M., my home was burglarized. It was just about two minutes before I arrived home from work. What makes this case interesting is that the thief or thieves were definitely professionals; not only were they wearing cloth gloves so as not to leave fingerprints, but they didn't seem the least bit daunted by the "Protected by ADT Security System" signs I had posted in the front and back yard, as well as the ADT stickers on each and every window of the house. They systematically cut the screens over each of the windows facing the back and side yards, searching for a window which might have been left unlocked by accident. Not finding one, they broke off a screen and forced open a window, entering the house while setting off the alarm. Strangely, they thought they could disarm the alarm system, and accordingly ripped the alarm system keypad from the wall. Moving around the house, they found the alarm siren and smashed it with what the sherriffs deputies think was a crowbar so it would stop ringing. After searching the house, all they could find to take was my laptop computer and a few books of checks from the bank. Perhaps sensing that the police were on their way, or having heard me open the garage door, the culprits fled through the alley and over a relatively low fence on the right side of my house. There are all kinds of bushes as well as some hedges on the side of the house, and we think the culprits hid for a few minutes on their way out. The sheriff deputies dusted for fingerprints the following day but found only a glove print. They told me that they have no information with which to work in order to attempt to catch the thieves.

All of this is disturbing news, but it does illustrate the points that burglaries in our neighborhood are indeed taking place, and that the professional thieves committing the crimes are "casing" the neighborhood, trying to identify homes showing no signs of present residents. It also shows us that the conventional security systems such as ADT apparently don't deter the thieves, who will still enter the house and stick around despite an alarm blazing and knowledge that the police are on the way. Please report this information to SONA so that everyone will be aware and take the proper precautions.

Where Can Sex Offenders Live?

Ever wonder where sex offenders can and cannot live? Sacramento City PD addresses this issue here.

429 And Counting!

Thanks to an overwhelming show of support, we now have 429 verified email addresses for Sierra Oaks residents. That is an amazing number!

We have had more than 115 families already send in their 2009 membership forms. Thank you! We will be sending out an email shortly listing those names and thanking those residents for their support.

Safety Reminder

Hi Thomas,
I meant to call before we left out of town and with house guests and Christmas, time got away from me. I wanted to let you know that the evening of Dec 26th, someone broke into my brother and sister-in-laws' suburban parked in our driveway at 2901 Huntington Rd. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law left her purse inside and they saw it. They smashed a window and had charges racked up on internet purchases before 7:30am. There were 3 other cars parked out front and none of them were touched. Can you send an email reminding people to take their valuables inside? Even if for a few moments?
Thanks, Ann Casentini

Crime Tracking

Did you know...?

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and the Sacramento City Police Department offer crime tracking on their sites. Check out the links here and here.

Happy New Year